1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to knee pads, and more specifically, knee pads that are incorporated into a pair of socks or pair of short bands which protect an infant's knees and feet from being scratched, rug burned, or scarred while the infant is crawling on the floor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Problems associated with infants learning to crawl on their hands and knees have created injuries such as leaving their knees and feet both scarred, rug burned, and scratched. Knee pads for infants and toddlers have been the subject of patentability for many years in order to prevent and protect infants from these injuries.
The following design patents illustrate various examples of knee pads for infants, toddlers, and children.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 312,147, issued to Randall H. Lapin on Nov. 13, 1990, reveals an ornamental design of a knee pad for babies, toddlers, and small children. The design includes padding material with two straps. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 344,609, also issued to Randall H. Lapin on Feb. 22, 1994, shows an ornamental design of knee pads for babies, toddlers, and small children. The design includes padding material with four straps.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 338,281, issued to Lorrie Bottorff, et al. on Aug. 10, 1993, presents an ornamental design of an infant knee pad. The design includes padding with a looped strap. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 417,037, issued to John D. Bitter on Nov. 23, 1999, depicts an ornamental design of a knee pad for crawling infants. The design includes a picture of a bear on the pad and two straps extending from the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,885, issued to Leslie T. Applegate on Sep. 8, 1981, explains a knee brace with a resilient pad surrounding the patella. The knee brace includes an elastic stretchable sleeve. The knee brace also includes a flexible sheet of non-stretchable material in a circumferential direction secured to the interior of the sleeve which is configured and dimensioned to surround a substantial portion of the user's patella.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,361, issued to Kenneth B. Leighton, et al. on Nov. 27, 1984, characterizes a knee and elbow pad and method of making the same. The pad includes an elasticized sleeve which surrounds the joint to be protected and a pad assembly fastened to the sleeve. The pad assembly includes a fabric covering over a polyurethane foam backing. A recess is formed in the polyurethane by pressing a hot die into it and a dense, modified polyurethane is cast in the recess. The combination of polyurethane foam and dense, modified polyurethane provides superior shock absorption and protection from impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,303, issued to W. David Atwater on Jan. 10, 1989, describes a knee protector pad which is adapted for use by volleyball players. The protector pad includes an elastic sleeve enclosing the knee and adjacent portions of the leg of the wearer. A flat elastomeric foam pad is completely enclosed in a knit sleeve and bar tack stitching attaches spaced-apart portions of the upper and lower edges of the knit sleeve to the elastic sleeve to maintain the pad in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,778, issued to Leslie A. Peterson on Jul. 11, 1989, discusses a child's crawler garment and a method of making the garment. The garment is a pair of pants having leg portions which are formed in the vicinity of the knee area with a design made of a thermal heat setting material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,753, issued to Cheng-Shung Chang on Apr. 10, 1990, teaches an athletic knee pad having a padded front section, an elastic rear section, an adjustable upper elastic sleeve, and an elastic lower sleeve of a smaller diameter than the main body of the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,837, issued to William R. Meistrell on Jan. 7, 1992, defines a knee or elbow protector having a flexible, relatively thin wall tube that is bi-directionally stretchable. The tube includes inner and outer sides with opposite ends and sides to be stretched when slipped onto the leg or arm to cover the knee or elbow.
The tube includes a first elastomeric layer and a second layer of stretchable fabric attached to and substantially covering one side of the first layer. An elastic foam pad is located adjacent the outer side of the tube and spaced from the opposite side. There is a retention fabric closely covering the pad and defining a loop-shaped peripheral portion that is attached to the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,577, issued to Gerald D. Detty on Dec. 8, 1992, comments on an elbow and knee sleeve with seams on opposite sides of the sleeve. The seams are placed on the opposite sides of the sleeve to prevent the bunching of material. The knee brace is made of a triple laminate with elastomeric material sandwiched between two layers of nylon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,335, issued to Floleather Twitty on Dec. 8, 1998, instructs a noise making garment for producing sounds when each noise pad is compressed. Great Britain Pat. No. 2,073,009A, issued on October of 1981, discusses improvements in or relating to leg guards. The leg guards include a first outer layer of plastic material which provides an impact resistant surface and a second inner layer which provides a resilient padding for the leg of the user.
Ideal knee padding wear would not only protect an infant's knees and feet from being scarred and scratched up, but also be part of the infant's everyday clothing.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.